Eye's of Death
by DarkPhoenix-24
Summary: SEQUEL to Duality /3rd installment of series/ The mob is scattered... Everyone's looking for some peace and quiet... but Gotham is about to be thrown in another dark age of choas. Will Batman and Gordon be able to hold together what's left of Gotham?
1. Blood

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything of the batman franchise. Warner Brothers and DC comics and whoever else, do! As a devout fan, I buy the movies and watch them till the dvd melts. muahahahahahahahahaha!**

Blood

Joker was awake and was staring intently at the nurse who was putting the I.V. in him. When the nurse got close enough, he started barking like a wild animal and the nurse screeched and ran out of the room. Pamela rolled her eyes as Joker shook with laughter.

"You are just like a two year old."

Joker smiled, "Don't tell me you didn't find any of that absolutely hilarious?"

"Well I didn't." Pamela retorted, tapping a syringe.

"Enough with the medicine already…" Joker growled.

Pamela just smirked, "Does Joker wanna a nappy poo?"

Pamela giggled to herself as she administered the shot in Joker's right arm. He started to twitch and shake uncontrollably for a little while. Pamela watched as Joker's breathing started rasping after he finished twitching.

"Trying to torture me, huh?" Joker said through gritted teeth.

Pamela filled her syringe with the green substance again, "Don't try to test me and this will go smoothly. I'm making sure you are immobile so that the doctors can give you a physical."

"Oh, goody…" Joker replied. "You know, you could give me the physical."

"Or, I could make you as uncomfortable as possible with another shot of this." Pamela flashed the syringe as a few doctors came walking in. "He's all yours. I'll be standing by in case he needs another shot."

"Right, let's get this over with." A doctor said as he started putting on gloves.

**XXXXX**

"You should go home and get some sleep." Selina said as Bruce sat back up in his chair.

Bruce had fallen asleep while visiting Selina. He just smiled as he stood up. "Are you sure you will be alright?"

Selina just smiled, "What's the worst that can happen to me?"

Bruce sighed, "Your enthusiasm slays me."

Selina rolled her eyes, "Whatever."

Bruce chuckled as he planted a kiss on Selina's dry lips and left. Selina leaned back into her pillows, with her eyes closed.

**XXXXX**

Pamela was putting some of her things away as the doctor's left. A couple of big guys came in ready to escort the Joker back to Arkham.

"Did you like what you saw?" Joker cooed.

Pamela ignored him as she pulled out a bottle that had some sleeping medication in it. She walked over to him and noticed that one of the doctors had forgotten to re-strap the buckle that goes around Joker's head.

"Any funny business and I'll snap your neck." Pamela warned Joker.

Joker just smiled as Pamela stood right up against him. She leaned up on her toes, really close to his face, looking for the other part of the strap. Joker's right hand was raw, trying to wriggle free from the straps that bound him. Joker turned his head towards Pamela and she instantly grabbed Joker's face.

"Stop, now."

"Are you getting turned on as much as me?" Joker replied.

Pamela squeezed his jaw, "I'm warning you…"

"Oh, you are such a tease!"

Without a chance to react, Pamela found Joker's right hand had gotten free and he pulled her left arm away from his face.

"WHY SO SERIOUS?"

The two men tried to aid Pamela, but found themselves horrified at what they saw next. A river of blood flowed from Pamela's neck as she fell to the ground. They looked at Joker, who was freeing himself from his other strap and ran out of the room. Joker walked over to Pamela, who was fumbling around for some bandages. Backed up against the wall, Pamela started crying hysterically. She tried to scream, but her neck hurt too much. Joker poured out Pamela's contents on the small table and found her scalpel. Pamela looked horrified to see Joker's smiling mouth stained with her blood.

"Please…" Pamela choked out, still clutching her neck.

"What was that?" Joker sarcastically remarked.

"Please!"

"Please what?" Joker yelled.

Pamela's breathing was rasping, "Please… don't kill me!"

"That's better!"

Joker stalked towards Pamela and grabbed her jaw. He started cutting into her face with the scalpel and Pamela's eyes started to roll to the back of her head from all the pain and blood. Joker stood back to admire his work as she slid to the ground dead. Joker crouched to stare at Pamela's lifeless body and put his hand in her blood. He closed his eyes, while relishing the warmth of it on his scars.

He dipped his hand in the pool of Pamela's blood again and proceeded to smear it on the wall.

**XXXXX**

Selina's head shot up from its resting position as she heard yelling and running up and down the hallway.

"What the hell?" Selina asked when it sounded like someone was crying outside of her door.

Selina could hear what sounded like security running up and down the hallway too. Her door opened and Selina shifted in her bed.

"Nurse, what is going on?"

Before she got an answer, Selina felt the adrenaline in her body pulse. There, covered in someone else's blood, was the Joker. She wanted to scream, to cry, but she couldn't. Selina would not look afraid in front of him.

"Hello, Selina." Joker said as he slowly made his way over to her.

"Hello, Joker." Selina replied coolly.

Joker sat down on the side of Selina's bed as Selina edged away from him, "Well it looks like we both escaped death."

Selina just stared with apathy on her face. Joker smiled and grabbed Selina's throat, "When I talk to you, I expect a response."

Selina spat in his face and felt nauseated from the smell of blood on his breath. Joker slapped her hard and Selina's hair looked wild over her face. Joker just stood up, "Until we meet again."

Joker practically skipped out of the room. Selina didn't realize she was crying until she felt something drip on her hands. Her body started convulsing as the sobs escaped. Selina pulled at her hair, "NO! Why… me? Oh God… Bruce… I need you… to keep my sanity!"

**XXXXX**

Gordon watched as his men covered Pamela's body and put it on a stretcher. He looked at the bloody wall. The bat signal was painted in Pamela's crimson blood and two bloody circles were above it.

"Do you think it represents eyes?" one of the officers asked.

"I don't know anything anymore." Gordon replied as he walked out of the room. "How the hell did he get lose?"

"They think one of the doctors may have not strapped him back down right during the physical."

Gordon ran his hands through his hair and started to spew a slew of cuss words, while kicking things out of his way. The desk area was completely quiet as they watched. Gordon had the whole perimeter surrounded with cops.

"We need to find this lunatic before he gets on the streets again!"


	2. The Puzzle Box Scattered

The Puzzle Box Scattered

Mario Falcone kicked a rat away from his shoe as a car rode up to him. A female stepped out and the lights on the car turned off.

"Sofia…" Mario greeted.

"It's been a long time, brother." Sofia replied coldly.

Mario nodded, "Sad, but true."

"Why have you called me here?"

Mario stepped closer, "Father is dead and has been dead for some time. Alberto is dead too."

Sofia took a step back. "What? How…"

"Father's empire is in shambles. Sal Maroni is deceased, so it's up to us. I need you by my side, sis."

Sofia choked back the tears, "Alright, but I'm doing this for father; not for you, Mario."

Mario smiled, "Good, because I know your persuasive skills are top notch."

Sofia smirked as another car rolled up. She stood off to the side as a large man stepped out with three other's; his body guards.

"What does the Falcone's want with the Petrel family?" the large man asked.

Mario snapped his fingers and a man walked around a corner with a large, silver briefcase. "I want your businesses co-operation. Whenever I need you, you don't question me."

The large man rubbed his chin, "I don't think the organizations in this city are ready for another regrouping."

"Well you all don't have a choice. You get in my way, then you are going to wish you had taken the deal." Mario replied.

Mario turned around and the man with the briefcase followed him.

"Wait a minute!" the large man stated.

Mario stopped and turned around. "Yes?"

"How much?"

Mario nodded towards the briefcase and the man opened it, "$250,000 now and a monthly allowance of $10,000."

**XXXXX**

Gordon had a search team in almost every corner of the city. He was at the police department, a large map covering a huge portion of the wall as he and the investigators put pins and strings and pictures on it.

"I will find him." Gordon said under his breath.

"Take it easy, alright." A Lieutenant stated.

"Take it easy?" Gordon looked wild, "Have you already forgotten the hundreds of children killed in that elementary school? Have you already forgotten the havoc this nut has reigned down upon this city? I don't think the citizens of this city are ready for anymore chaos it's already been through!"

Some of the officers looked down at the floor and others nodded their heads in agreement. Gordon took a big swig of his coffee, "I will put every bit of man power I have to finding Joker. If you think I won't go to great measures to stop him, then you are sadly mistaken my friends."

**XXXXX**

The reporters were having a field day. Mike Engel was one of the first ones to get to the scene.

"I thought the Joker was dead. Do you wish to explain this?"

Mike Engel pushed this question on every cop he came across, but he could not find Gordon. With some dumb luck, Mike Engle caught the Commissioner making his way to an SUV.

"Commissioner Gordon, we all thought the Joker was dead. Do you wish to explain this?"

"I am very busy right now trying to catch this guy. Please excuse me."

Mike Engel shoved his microphone back at him, "How do you sleep at night knowing you have lied to the citizens of Gotham?"

Gordon stopped and gave a death glare to Mike Engel, "I never lied to Gotham City. I was never the one who said Joker was dead! It was your media who lied to the people!"

Gordon got in the vehicle and sped off; leaving behind a speechless reporter.

**XXXXX**

"Thanks for picking me up, Bruce." Selina replied as she and Bruce walked hand in hand up the long stairs to Wayne Manor.

"So the Joker is loose again…" Bruce stated as they went up to Selina's own room.

"Ya." Selina replied shortly.

"I'm going to go to my company, I'll be back shortly." Bruce exclaimed as he left.

Selina knew good and well what he was doing. She changed into simple jeans and a shirt and made her way throughout the manor. Taking in the familiar sights and smells, Selina ran her hand over the smooth, white marble of the stair case. She sat down and memories of the night she and Bruce were alone on the stairs made her blush. Selina laughed at the image of herself in her lacy underwear and bra and the fact that Alfred caught them red handed.

Selina went back to her room and pulled out her duffel bag with her cat attire and weapons. She set them out and ran her hands over them. Oh, how it felt good on her finger tips. Selina noticed she would need to get another whip. Her black shirt was torn and her black pants were dirty. Boots were fine and so were the gloves. Selina needed to make another mask.

Selina put it all away back in her bag and got to work looking for black material that was not needed in the manor…


	3. Illusions

**Author's Notes: I cannot believe that it has already been a year since Heath Ledger has died. My prayers still go out to his family. Sorry for the long wait. I have been playing around with some ideas and I hope this story is as good (hopefully better) than Waltz with the Devil. Thanks for the reviews!**

Illusions

Gotham City Police Department was scrambling as everyone pitched ideas as to how they were going to find Joker. Gordon stared at the large map for a while and then grabbed the strings linked to all the pins on the map. Everyone stopped what they were doing as they saw Gordon rip them all off in one quick tug.

"New strategy everyone!" Gordon yelled as he picked up a few yellow pins. "We do search perimeters around the banks Joker robbed. I want a ten block radius around First National Bank, Wachovia, Department of Currency Bank, Llano Bank, and the big one, Gotham City Bank."

"Um, sir, Wachovia left after they were robbed."

Gordon just put the pins on the map, "We still search around that area!"

**XXXXX**

Bruce was putting away his suit when footsteps behind him made him pause. "Selina?"

Selina smiled as Bruce turned around. He was in just black, skin tight pants from wearing the bat suit. "Bruce, I need to ask you something and it's very serious."

Bruce nodded, "go ahead.."

"I want you to train me for combat."

Bruce chuckled, "Selina, I don't think…"

"Oh, come on!" Selina replied frustratingly, "How am I to truly protect myself if I don't know how to defend myself properly. You saw how much of a beating I took and I'm an amateur!"

Bruce just started walking away but Selina grabbed his arm, "Bruce…"

"It will be vigorous training, Selina…"

Selina just smiled, "Try me…"

**XXXXX**

Gordon was behind his desk, staring at the pictures of Joker in his office. He heard something fall and break outside his office. Opening the door, all the lights were flickering as if something was wrong with the power.

"What the hell is going on?" Gordon mumbled to himself.

Gordon made his way down the hallway and noticed a thick trail of blood going down the stairway. He touched the railing and immediately let go. Looking at his hands, Gordon realized the railing was coated with blood and it was dripping everywhere. He carefully made his way downstairs to the main room and opened the double doors. Bodies of police officers were everywhere. One cop stood in the middle of the room, facing away from Gordon.

"What happened?" Gordon tried to say but realized he couldn't say a word.

The officer started laughing hysterically and turned around. Gordon went pale as he started walking backwards and slipped in a pool of blood. He sat up and looked at the blood that was all over him.

"Why… could you not protect us?"

Gordon looked at the bodies to see that they were not officers anymore, but citizens. All their bodies mangled and trails of blood all over them. It was a little girl that was talking to him. She stood before Gordon holding out her tiny hands in front of her. Her wrists had been slit.

"Why could you not protect me from him?"

Gordon tried to speak, to stand, but found his body numb as Joker stood behind the girl in a cop uniform.

"Yes commissioner… why couldn't you protect your city?" Joker laughed hysterically. "They are all counting on your protection and you failed!"

Gordon tried to stand up and yell. Gordon tried to do something as Joker grabbed the little girl by her hair and pulled her head back, exposing her neck. All Gordon could do was watch as Joker ran a blade across her fragile throat…

"Commissioner?"

Gordon jumped up and realized he had never left his office. "Oh… I must have been daydreaming."

"You started yelling in your office here and I thought something was wrong."

Gordon rubbed his eyes, "Thank you, Lieutenant, but everything is just fine."

The Lieutenant nodded and left. Gordon just sat for a minute thinking and stood up to get back to work.

**XXXXX**

Bruce woke up as he heard the pitter patter of footsteps go by his bedroom door. He walked out in his PJ's and noticed Selina was headed for the stairs. He followed her as her feet made soft echoes on the white marble. Bruce followed her outside into the gardens and noticed she stopped.

Selina turned around and smiled, "I couldn't sleep."

Bruce walked up to Selina, "I noticed."

"I kept seeing… him."

Bruce embraced Selina, "I won't let him hurt you, Selina."

Selina just snuggled against him wishing she could just believe him, but her doubts won over her heart. She felt that if the Joker could get to her in the Wayne Manor, then she was never safe. "I know you will try."

Bruce just looked up at the full moon and made a silent prayer that everything would turn out alright.

**XXXXX**

The manager of Wanoa Bank of Gotham was approached by a very slender woman in a black and green business suit.

"What can I do for you, ma'am?"

The woman placed a silver briefcase on the manager's desk, "I need to claim the benefits of Carmine Falcone."

The manager chuckled, "And who might you be?"

"Sofia Falcone."

The color in the manager's face paled, "Sofia… I thought you were never coming back to Gotham."

"That was the plan, but this place has a way with luring its former inhabitants back." Sofia replied.

"Well, I only said that because you yourself said that you hated your family and everything this city stood for."

"I know what I said!" Sofia retorted, "Know, are you going to let me co-sign or not?"

The manager immediately stood up, "It's no problem, Sofia. Just wait her for a few minutes, please."

Sofia nodded as he left. She pulled out her phone and called Mario.

"He is getting the paper work right now."

Mario sighed, "Alright, we need the numbers to the safety deposit box of the Petrel family as well. I want to make sure they don't double cross us with the amount of money we are giving them."

Sofia hung up the phone and tapped it against the side of her face as she became lost in thought.

"The criminals in this city will pay for double crossing my family…"


	4. Training

**Author's Notes: I hope everyone enjoys this chapter. Please Review!**

Training

"OUCH!" Selina yelled.

Bruce and Selina were holding sticks. "You need to concentrate Selina. You need to be able to predict your opponents every move."

Selina just rolled her eyes and got swift hit across the legs, "BRUCE!"

"Concentrate!"

Selina took a deep breath and took her stance. Bruce spun his stick and went for another hit. Selina blocked it and attempted a hit at Bruce's torso. That was blocked as well and the two of them went at it with each other.

One hit after another, before Bruce had time to think, Selina successfully got a few whacks on Bruce. Bruce did a quick spin and popped Selina on the back.

Selina did a low grunt before getting back up, "Oh… you will pay."

Selina knocked Bruce's stick out of his hands and was on top of him, with her stick at his throat. "Yield!"

"Not so fast."

Bruce twisted Selina's stick out of her hands and rolled on top of her. They were both panting from exhaustion. Selina had a mischievous grin on her face and flipped Bruce on his back. "Are you trained for this, Bruce?"

Selina assaulted Bruce's lips with her own and racked her nails down his chest. Bruce moaned and grabbed Selina's hair and flipped her on her back. This continued for a while before Alfred's voice echoed in the area.

"Master Wayne, your clients are here."

Bruce just mumbled to himself as he got up, picking up Selina from the ground. Selina nibbled Bruce's ear, "We will continue this later."

Bruce just smirked as he made his way to his bed chamber.

**XXXXX**

"Gordon, I'm going home to check up on my family." Lieutenant Ramsy said.

Gordon just nodded as he took another drink of coffee. Ramsy made his way to the parking garage as he pulled out his cell phone.

"Hey, babe." Ramsy stated.

"Oh, thank God you are alright!"

Ramsy got in his car, "Honey, I'm on my way home to check up on you and Johnny. How is he?"

"He's asleep. He is even wearing your police coat."

Ramsy chuckled, "Tell him I love him."

"I will. I love you."

"I love you too."

Ramsy closed his eyes when he heard the click from his wife hanging up the phone. Breathing a sigh of relief, Ramsy went to start his car when he felt something cold and sharp touch his neck.

"Hello… Lieutenant." Joker said with a click of his tongue.

Ramsy felt his head being pulled back against the seat with the cold blade tickling his neck. "What do you want Joker?"

"What is mine, Lieutenant." Joker breathed.

Ramsy felt beads of sweat popping up on his face, "I don't understand…"

"My stuff!" Joker growled, "Let's not play coy, Lieutenant! You are going back into the department and getting my things or you will pay a visit to your wife in a body bag."

Ramsy's breathing hitched when Joker pressed the blade hard on his neck, "I understand."

"Good, I'll be waiting."

**XXXXX**

"Sir, there is no sighting of this guy!"

Gordon just ran his hands through his hair in frustration, "I will not sleep until he is caught!"

"The perimeters showed us that he is no-where near those banks!"

"Then what do you suggest? I am just dying to hear a better plan guys!" Gordon stated.

Nobody said anything and they went back to work. Gordon went back into his office as Lieutenant Ramsy entered.

"Thomas…" Ramsy whispered.

"I thought you were going home?"

"I was," Ramsy replied, "but I need your access to the evidence room."

"What for?"

"I'm following up on a… lead." Ramsy lied.

The two went down a long hallway to a large oak door with the words EVIDENCE ROOM AUTHORIZED PERSONEL ONLY printed on the glass.

"Well, it's open." Thomas stated as he jiggled the keys in the lock.

"Thanks, and I'm sorry for this buddy."

"For what?" Thomas replied before feeling all forms of consciousness leaving him.

Ramsy had his right arm around Thomas' throat, "Don't fight back and this will be over quickly."

Ramsy kept his hold tight as Thomas went limp and finally fell to the ground. Ramsy dragged Thomas into the evidence room and laid him down against the wall. Ramsy started going through all the shelves until he found a large chest that had the words DO NOT OPEN sprayed on it. Ramsy broke the lid open and saw all of the Joker's things wrapped up in plastic bags in it.

"How the hell am I going to get this out of here?"

Ramsy sat on the floor, thinking for a while and stood up. He looked all over the shelves to find a large, brown bag. He emptied the contents of heroine out of the bag and filled the bag with Joker's items. Ramsy tossed the keys on Thomas before leaving the evidence room.

"Lieutenant!"

Ramsy froze in his spot and turned around to see Deputy Chief Chad approaching him, "Have you seen Thomas?"

"Oh, Thomas?" Ramsy replied, "I think he went to the bathroom."

Chad nodded and walked away. Ramsy breathed a sigh of relief as he made his way back out to the parking garage. He approached his car and saw Joker standing by it.

"Took you long enough." Joker retorted.

"Hey, I got your shit now let me go home!" Ramsy seethed.

Joker snorted, "A deal's a deal. I need your keys though."

Ramsy's face paled, "I can't give you a police car. It's government owned! I could lose my job!"

"Oh, you couldn't lose your job for smuggling some evidence out of the department?"

Ramsy realized Joker had a point. After some speculation, Ramsy gave the bag and the keys to Joker.

"Nice doing business with you." Joker cackled as he tossed the bag into the car.

**XXXXX**

"The time to buy into this is now, Mr. Wayne."

Bruce just sipped his wine, "I do not like to be forced in a corner, Mr. Armani. I do what I will with my money. I will not be forced by other business men to shell out my money on monopolies that don't have structure. That's not how Wayne's do business."

Mr. Armani stood up and extended his hand, "I believe you are making a terrible mistake."

Bruce stood up and shook his hand, "I believe it's time for you to leave."

Alfred opened the large double doors to Wayne Manor as Mr. Armani and his business men followed him out. Alfred closed the door and gave Bruce a grave look.

"The police have not been able to catch the Joker."

"I figured…" Bruce replied.

"What are you going to do about it, sir?" Alfred asked.

"I don't know…"

Bruce turned to see Selina standing in the door way. She gave him a look a worry and Bruce tried to make her feel better by smiling. "Everything will be alright."

Selina just looked down to the ground. "Don't pretend around me, Bruce. It's insulting."

Bruce started to say something but Selina was already walking back to her room.


	5. Ramblings of a Mad Man

**Author's Notes: Sorry this is extremely short**

Ramblings of a Mad Man

Joker hummed to himself as he applied the makeup to his face. His hair had the tint of green in it from the spray paint and he slid his purple gloves on.

"I feel so… complete." Joker said with a hysterical laughter.

Joker sat on the hood of the police car and breathed in the cold night air. "Let freedom ring!"

As he said this, an explosion ripped through the quiet air at a night club. Many people around the area started screaming and running in several directions. A few people ran out of the remains of the night club, on fire, yelling for help.

Some civilians tried to help out the burning victims and Joker just got in his police car, to drive away from the scene. One civilian got in front of the car.

"Officer, these people need help!"

Joker rolled down the window and the civilian froze in his spot when Joker put a bullet in him. Joker cruised around in the police car and made his way out of the city. After a little while, he pulled over across the street from the Wayne Manor gate. Way up the hill, Joker could see the vast mansion and all the lights were on.

"You haven't gotten rid of me yet." Joker said with malice. "I swear to you, I will make your life miserable, Selina. I will take everything away from you and when you have nothing but your life left, I will take that from you too."

**XXXXX**

Selina stared out of her window, "He's out there."

"Who is?" Alfred asked, putting down the tray of food.

"Who do you think?"

Alfred sighed, "Miss Kyle, you are safe here."

"Are we, really?" Selina asked, still staring out the window.

Alfred just folded his hands behind his back and left the room without another word.


	6. Panic

Panic

The Mayor slouched in his chair, staring out his window towards the somber looking skyscrapers across the street. His door opening didn't cause him to straighten up immediately.

"Good evening, Mayor."

"Good evening, Gordon." The Mayor replied casually.

Gordon took a seat and took off his glasses. Pinching the bridge of his nose, Gordon took a deep breath. "We still don't have him."

"I figured…"

Gordon quickly looked up and saw the Mayor still had his chair facing away from him, "Don't you dare do that…"

The Mayor stood up, "Do what, Gordon?"

"Don't you dare give up on this city! The citizens need your support more than ever."

"You don't need me," The Mayor replied and turned to face Gordon, "You have Batman."

Gordon stood up and slammed his fist on the desk, "You have the audacity to throw that in my face? It was Batman who saved your sorry ass in the first place!"

The Mayor narrowed his eyes, "I will NOT be talked to like that."

"Well the way I see it is that maybe you need a stern talking to because I'm busting my butt to catch Joker and lord knows who else and you are talking nonsense! You took this job; you took the oath to do everything in your power to protect this city."

"I will not give up on this city, Gordon." The Mayor replied quietly.

Gordon settled down a bit, "Good. Now, I don't have a lot of men. I believe we need to ask for help from other cities, towns, etc. in the surrounding area."

The Mayor nodded, "Alright, let's do it because I don't want another crisis on our hands like last time."

**XXXXX**

"Bruce Wayne!" Joseph boomed. "I thought you were not going to show up!"

Bruce chuckled, "I would never miss a party of yours, Joseph. You always throw the grandest of parties in this great city."

"Oh, they do not compare to yours, Bruce." Joseph exclaimed, handing him a glass of champagne.

"I'll drink to that." Bruce replied with a wink.

"Whose beauty is that?" Joseph exclaimed, looking behind Bruce.

Bruce looked behind him and smiled to see Selina walking up in a long, flowing blue dress with black patterns of swirls faded out as it got near the bottom of the dress.

"That would be mine." Bruce replied.

Joseph did a silent cheer with his glass and walked off as Selina caught up with Bruce. "Is this dress a little too much?"

Bruce engulfed Selina's mouth with his in a passionate kiss. When they stopped, a few snickers could be heard behind them and Bruce winked, "No, you are absolutely gorgeous."

"I think Bruce finally found a woman he can't keep his paws off of." a guest whispered.

Bruce and Selina continued to mingle with the other guests. A live group of the musicians played for the party goers.

"Oh, that's what I need to do when I throw a party." Bruce commented when he finished another glass of champagne.

"So, I'm guessing there is the ego thing between you and the man I saw you talking with." Selina replied.

"Joseph and I go way back and yes, we are always trying to outdo each other when it comes to parties." Bruce laughed.

Selina just laughed and started sipping at her champagne again. "So what is this party for?"

"Oh, Joseph's company has merged with another and it's a big deal. My company is thinking about being a partner with them."

"Why not merge?" Selina inquired.

Bruce chuckled, "Why share my company with another if it's not going to expand it?"

"I see." Selina replied.

The host, Joseph, had the musicians stop playing and got up on the podium. "Attention, everyone, please."

All the guests all stopped their mingling and turned to look at the large man smiling at them with the whitest teeth ever seen.

"I just want to thank everyone for coming and sharing my food and booze!"

There was a loud chorus of cheers from everyone.

"Thank you! Of course, as everyone now knows, my company has merged with Mr. Fletchers in order to expand production and help stitch up the still weak spots of this city's economy."

An applaud erupted from the crowd.

"So everyone, continue to party on and remember… LET'S SPREAD A LITTLE ANARCHY!"

Everyone was silent for which no one knew how to respond to that last part of Joseph's speech. However that was short lived as Joseph pulled out a gun and gun shots could be heard in and around the crowd.

Bruce grabbed Selina and they pushed through the herd of panicking guests all the way to the emergency exit. They flew through the door and stood in the stair well, panting.

"What the hell was that about?" Selina breathed.

Bruce slammed his fist on the wall, "Joker got to him…. DAMN IT!"

"Wait a minute…. What?"

Bruce ran his hand through his hair, "Joker must be getting to my sources to bring down my company…"

Selina raised an eyebrow, "Why would he do that to you?"

"Because he knows I'm Batman…. And you know he is after you too!"

Selina looked down to the ground, "We can't just get down to the lobby and go out through the front doors. I'm sure Joker has every exit covered."

"I just can't understand what Joseph's cut is in all of this. Joseph just cares about money and Joker doesn't…"

Selina rolled her eyes and forced Bruce to look at her, "Don't try to understand Joker. I'm sure he doesn't even understand himself."

Bruce pulled out his phone and called Alfred, "Alfred, I need a helicopter ASAP! There's some trouble and I need Selina out of here as quick as possible."

Selina started to protest, but Bruce held her against him, "Don't let me lose you, Selina. I have lost so many good friends that your death would be the end of me."

Selina held back the tears that were threatening to escape from her eyelids. Bruce let go and walked through the emergency exit door back into the panicking crowd of people. Selina said a quick, silent prayer and made her way up the stairs to the rooftop.


	7. Panic pt 2

**Author's Notes: I WAS SO EXCITED THAT HEATH LEDGER WON! My congratulations go out to his family as well as my prayers. **

**Sorry about the long awaited update. A lot of stuff came up! That's life, right? ;)**

Panic pt. 2

The roar of the helicopter had Selina's dress and bits of her hair flying around her. Alfred helped Selina on and they immediately took off. Alfred had Selina put on a head set so that they could talk to each other better.

"We need to get Bruce!"

"I'm sorry but I have strict orders that you are to be taken as far away from here as possible." Alfred replied.

Selina balled her fists, "So you're just going to leave him there?"

"Don't you dare assume that I'm not as worried as you are about him." Alfred retorted. "He knows what he is doing."

**XXXXX**

Bruce walked around in the panicked crowd as men with clown masks and guns kept shooting in the air.

"EVERYONE ON THE FLOOR NOW!"

Everyone started sitting on the floor and Bruce noticed Gordon in the crowd. Bruce quickly got over to him, "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Bruce Wayne?" Gordon asked.

"Yes," Bruce replied angrily, "why are you here?"

"I had a feeling Joker would be hear… looks like I was right."

"You could get killed."

"Why do you suddenly care? Is it because your money is on the line?" Gordon replied with sarcasm.

Bruce looked at him and remembered that Gordon still only knew him as the "playboy" of Gotham City. "I don't expect you to understand, but someday you will."

Gordon gave him a confused look before feeling himself being hoisted up.

" 'ello, Commissioner!" one of joker's men chuckled, holding a P99 at Gordon.

Bruce knocked the man's feet from under him and grabbed the pistol. Unloading the last two bullets into the masked clown, Bruce threw the gun away from him. A pair of strong arms pinned his hands behind his back and Bruce started thrashing before another masked man punched him across the face and in the stomach.

"I've never see-nah gun in your hands before, Mister Wayne." Joker cooed.

Bruce had a small trail of blood leaving the right corner of his mouth as Joker walked up to him, "You don't look so tough now, do ya?"

Bruce spat the small pool of blood in his mouth right on Joker's face. Joker immediately flinched and stepped back, wiping it off with the back of his jacket sleeve. "That was a little rude…"

"Like you have manners…." Bruce replied.

Joker pulled out a curved blade and grabbed Bruce's jaw, "Did I ever tell you how I got these scars?"

"You've told many stories about your scars, Joker." Bruce seethed through clenched teeth.

"Oh goody! I just hate repeating myself!" Joker said with a laugh.

Without hesitation, Joker punched Bruce across the face, "You don't know how long-ah I've wanted to do that-ta!"

Bruce moved his jaw around, glad that it wasn't dislocated. Joker made his way around the crowd and motioned to one of his men. One of Joker's minions made his way over to Gordon and tazed him. Bruce got out of his strangle hold and knocked that man out, but was tazed down as well and was lying on the floor next to Gordon. The man frisked Gordon and pulled out Gordon's pistol and laughed as he walked away. Joker continued to stalk around the group and Joseph got out from behind his podium.

"Joker! How are you?" Joseph exclaimed with a big smile.

Joker smiled and put a bullet in Joseph's head. A few screams and loud gasps emitted from the multitude of the crowd. Joker faced everybody, "You see, it's not about the money, it's about sending a message!"

"And a great message you have been sending." A man stated from the back.

Joker whipped around, his green hair dancing around his face. Mario Falcone stood, straightening his jacket, and walked towards the Joker.

Mario extended his hand, "Mario Falcone, I'm now the leader of the Mob."

Joker smiled and motioned a couple of his men over, "Didn't I tell you to kill anyone who stood up?"

"Woah, there!" Mario exclaimed, throwing his hands up, "I just want to have a chat with you, man to man."

"And I just want to have all of the Falcone family in the ground." Joker replied.

Mario ran his hand through his hair, "Look, I know the Mob wasn't good to you when Sal Maroni ran things."

Joker grabbed Mario's throat and ran his blade across Mario's cheek, "I think I should leave you with party favor…"

"Leave everyone alone…" Gordon coughed, "It's me that you want…"

Joker flashed his yellow teeth and slashed Mario's left cheek with his knife. Mario yelled and fell to the ground clutching the left side of his face. Joker walked over to the middle of the room, a little trail of blood droplets following him, and stopped in front of Gordon and Bruce.

"I came here to let Gotham's finest know that I am back and you better be ready to sacrifice if you want to get rid of me." Joker cackled.

Joker got down on one knee and rubbed Mario's blood across Gordon's face, "Let his blood represent the many innocents that I will personally make sure you know are lost."

Joker stood back up and snapped his fingers. His men started leaving and Joker turned around as Bruce was helping Gordon stand up.

"By the way, Commissioner…. Pamela's blood was like candy to my lips. I look forward to tasting your wife's."

Joker's evil laugh emanated throughout the room and made everyone shiver in fear as the Joker left.

**XXXXX**

Selina paced back and forth in Bruce's room and whipped around when Bruce opened the door. He walked in and threw his jacket off. Selina walked up to him and ran her fingers over the little cut on his lip. They stared at each other for a long time as Bruce took hold of Selina' s hand, that had his blood on it, and sucked it off her finger tips.

Selina closed her eyes at the sensation and felt Bruce brush her jaw line with his thumb.

"Bruce…" but Selina was silenced as Bruce engulfed her lips with his.

The kissing was light, but got passionate and heavier with each passing moment. Bruce ran his hand through Selina's hair and grabbed her waist. Selina wrapped her arms around his neck and felt Bruce push her towards the bed.

Selina stopped him when the back of her legs hit the bed, "Are you sure?"

Bruce smiled and replied with, "I love you."

Selina smiled as she was pushed onto the bed and Bruce straddled her waist as he ripped off his shirt…


	8. Trying to Make Sense

**Author's Notes: Wow it has been a long time since I have updated!**

**Sorry that's all I could divulge on Selina and Bruce. This story is rated "T", not "M". Enjoy this next chapter! **

Trying to Make Sense

Selina woke up from the stream of sunlight hitting her in the face. She could hear the soft thump of Bruce's heart as she laid her head on his chest. Smiling to herself, Selina practically purred at the memories of last night.

Getting out of bed, Selina put on Bruce's shirt and made her way to the kitchen. Opening the fridge, she popped open a carton of milk and began to chug. A little bit of milk escaped and made its way down her chest. Selina rubbed the milk off and noticed the multitude of purple spots on her chest.

Selina blushed to herself as memory of how Bruce assaulted her with his mouth hit her like a tidal wave. Biting her lower lip, Selina hopped up on the kitchen counter top and drank some more milk. Her hair was wild and messy around her and Selina noticed her wrists were quite sore as well. Selina giggled as she remembered how Bruce used his belt to tie her hands to the bed post…

"What are you smiling about?" Bruce asked knowingly.

Selina licked her lips, "Good morning."

Bruce smirked as he walked over to Selina and gave her big kiss. Selina playfully wrapped her legs around his waist and nipped at his bottom lip. Bruce let out a small groan as his grip tightened on Selina's waist and he started sucking and biting at the base of Selina's neck line.

"Ahem…" Alfred coughed as he found the couple. "I do believe I need that countertop for your breakfast."

Selina blushed red from embarrassment, but it didn't even stop Bruce. Bruce picked Selina up and carried her up the stairs, back to his bedroom.

**XXXXX**

"State your name for the records please."

"Jonathan Crane."

The judge wrote a couple of things on a file before slamming a large stamp on it. The judge took off her glasses and leaned forward towards Crane, "I better not ever see you here again, Dr. Crane. The next time, I will not be as generous to allow you a parole hearing. You are now free to go."

Crane turned around to leave the court and smiled when he saw his former colleague, Edward Nigma, waiting for him.

"Riddle me this…" Edward cooed.

Crane just chuckled, "Please, I'm too exhausted to go through a game of riddles!"

Edward walked with Jonathan to a taxi outside, "You know one day it will be a matter of life or death if you have to solve riddles. Life itself is nothing but a vast paradox and filled to the brim with riddles. Have you ever read The Hobbit?"

"No and I don't care to read."

Edward smiled, "Bilbo Baggins had to solve a set a riddles in order to escape with his very life."

"So this is your favorite book?" Crane drawled.

"Don't get testy because I'm smarter than you."

The two just laughed as the taxi drove off to its destination.

**XXXXX**

Sofia stared out of the vast window in her office as Mario paced back and forth, gently touching the stitching on the left side of his face.

"Who does this Joker guy think he is?!" Mario bellowed. "I extend my hand in respect and this prick decides to take a knife to my face! No respect at all…"

Sofia turned around to assess her brother, "He does think you are in control of the mob, right?"

"Yes."

"Good." Sofia replied. "If this maniac decides to come after the mob, he cannot get to me if we want our family's legacy to stay intact."

Mario looked dumbfounded, "Oh thanks! As long as your safe and I'm not, this is good…"

Sofia crossed her arms, "That's not what I meant! You are family, Mario. My brother! I will do everything in my power to protect you. I was trying to say that I have power and influence that our father accomplished; that Alberto and Sal Maroni wished they had. Now they are dead."

"Well so is father…" Mario said barely above a whisper.

"Alberto killed father and I'm jealous I didn't get the chance to put a bullet in him myself." Sofia seethed.

Mario had a look of shock, "What?"

"There was a witness. He was a guard in that area that was paid to leave early, but he stayed around to see what was going on."

Mario sat down, "How could he… I mean, it was father!"

Sofia looked out the window again, "I don't know… but I'm sure father probably asked for it. I understand that he went crazy and I know that is hard to believe, but look at this city. It can make anyone go mad."

**XXXXX**

Commissioner Gordon was reclined in his chair at home. He needed to get away from it all for a little bit, especially after that death threat to his wife from Joker. Gordon shuttered at the thought of finding his wife dead.

"Dad? Are you okay?"

Gordon smiled at his son James, "I'm just tired."

James got on his dad's lap, "Is Batman helping you?"

Gordon looked out of the window, "I don't know what he is doing, but I just have to believe we are in good hands with him."

Gordon remembered how Batman saved his wife and felt hope for his family.

"Honey…" Barbara cooed. "Do you want your dinner to-go?"

Gordon smiled as he put James down, "Thanks honey."

Barbara and Gordon embraced for a long time before Gordon took his dinner and headed back to work.

**XXXXX**

Batman was perched on a Gargoyle as he just closed his eyes and listened to everything. The city was practically dead. Everyone is so scared that they have locked themselves up. Batman could smell the fear in the air and this is exactly what Joker wants; Gotham under his control. Batman leaped off the statue and glided through the cool night air. He was going to safe this city. He swore to this when he began his journey in this cowl and he swore to his deceased parents.


	9. Red Envelopes

Red Envelopes

For a few weeks now, everyone has been on edge. Nobody knows what the Joker is up too. Gordon was standing in the middle of the conference room with his nerves just shot. What was the Joker waiting for? That's when the envelopes started coming in. Every envelope was a manila envelope addressed to GPD and there was a different pattern of blood smeared on it. Inside were pictures of the dead victim taken by Joker himself. The first time Gordon opened one, he had to go to the bathroom to puke his guts up.

Every envelope and picture was laid out on a large table. Police officers and Gordon poured over these pictures to find clues as to what Joker was planning. Yet, to no avail, nobody was getting anything. The victims were completely random and the style that they were killed was different with each one. Even as Bruce poured over the pictures in his bat cave, he was stumped.

"Some soup, sir?" Alfred chimed.

"Thanks Alfred."

Alfred stopped for a second, "What are you looking at Master Wayne?"

Bruce sat back in his seat, "Gordon gave me snap shots of what the police have been getting from Joker and there is no pattern or a clear warning on what Joker is up too. I wonder if Joker is doing this to keep all of us busy or it's a personal vendetta towards Gordon. At that party, Joker told Gordon he would personally let him know of the people he couldn't save."

Alfred put a hand on Bruce's shoulder, "I believe you and Gordon will stop Joker. You were able to do it before, you can do it again."

"I don't know Alfred, this time is different. This time Joker isn't out in the open. He is being allusive. He has changed his game plan."

**XXXXX**

Joker stood on the rooftop of an old abandoned apartment complex. He closed his eyes and took a drag off the fear that engulfed Gotham City.

"Joker, sir."

Joker's smile instantly vanished, "What is it?"

"When do you want us to deliver the last envelope?"

Joker cackled, "Let's deliver it to Gordon's home. Make sure his wife gets it."

**XXXXX**

Gordon sat in his office, alone with his thoughts. His mind kept drifting back to that party where Bruce took a beating from Joker. He knew how to fight and knew how to handle a weapon. Why was he so concerned about him being there?

"Commissioner Gordon!"

Gordon jumped out of his chair, "What is it?"

"We think we may have an idea on the reason why Joker sent these pictures."

Gordon raced into the conference room to see everyone stare up at him, "Well? What is it?"

"The victims were sent to us in random order, so we took samples of the blood from each envelope to see if we can I.D. the victims. We want to try to make a timeline of the deaths of the victims and then we might get a better idea of why Joker wanted to send us these."

Gordon nodded, "When will the lab results get in?"

"They should be in any minute now. There's the results right now!"

A very somber looking man walked in, "Um… Commissioner Gordon, it's not good."

Gordon just gave him a death glare.

"Sir, its just pig's blood. No human blood."

Gordon looked over at his officers, "Any other leads?"

Everyone just looked at each other and said nothing. Gordon just walked out of the room and was followed by intent stares. He grabbed his coat and walked out of the department.


	10. The Decipher

**Author's Notes: Yay! Another update! **** Please review! I love to hear from my readers.**

The Decipher

"How about an outside source Master Wayne?" Alfred chimed in.

Bruce had fallen asleep in his chair as he poured over Joker's pictures. "Who exactly would this outside source be Alfred?"

"Well, how about giving Lucius a try."

Bruce practically jumped out of his chair, "I'm such an idiot! Thanks Alfred!"

**XXXXX**

Gordon came home to see the lights were still on at his house. It was almost four in the morning. Gordon walked in through the door to see a shattered bowl on the living room floor. The spaghetti seemed to be frozen in time as it sat in a heaping mound by his feet. Fear rose like bile to Gordon's throat as he surveyed the rest of the house. He heard a noise in the kitchen and cautiously walked in. He breathed a sigh of relief as he saw Barbara walk around the corner.

"Oh, James!" Barbara cried.

Gordon embraced his crying wife, "What is it honey?"

Barbara could only point towards the dining room, and Gordon felt a chill run down his spine as he saw a manila envelope, with its contents poured out, on the table. "Who gave that to you?"

"I didn't see anyone. It was just put in the house through the mail slot on the door." Barbara mumbled against Gordon's coat.

Gordon gently moved Barbara out of the way as he slowly approached the table. The pictures had a female sprawled on a couch, a gunshot wound to the face, but her wrists looked raw as if they had been bound and there were several stab wounds on her stomach. Gordon, without realizing, threw the pictures off the table in disgust and started slamming his fist on the table. Barbara tried to calm Gordon down as James walked in with his security blanket.

"Daddy?"

Gordon spun around to see his sons eyes plead with him to stop. "It's alright son, Daddy is just stressed and angry from work."

James ran to his father and embraced him. Barbara embraced her husband as well with tears still spilling out onto her face and Gordon's coat.

"I need to get both of you out of here…" Gordon whispered.

Barbara looked scared, "You mean Joker sent those?"

Gordon nodded and Barbara's worst fears started to become a reality.

**XXXXX**

"Well, Mr. Wayne, I'm just as stumped as you are."

Lucius took off his glasses and crossed his arms in thought. Bruce looked dumbfounded at what he just heard.

"So that's just it?" Bruce asked.

"Unless you want me to pull something straight from thin air, that's about as good as it gets from me."

Bruce laid his head on his hands in defeat, "What am I going to do?"

Lucius thought for another moment, "On the other hand, I use to work with a man who was just fascinated with puzzles. His name was Edward, I believe. Yes, Edward Nigma! We did lab research together a long time ago. I haven't heard of him ever leaving Gotham."

Bruce nodded, "I'll give him a try."

**XXXXX**

Gordon stared at the bat signal as Batman perched on top of it. "It feels great to be able to turn this back on again."

Batman jumped down as Gordon pulled out another manila envelope. Batman looked down at it, "I heard of a man who specializes in puzzles. He goes by the name of Edward Nigma."

Gordon nodded, "Yes, I know him. He has a little trouble with the law, if you know what I mean."

"How do I find him?"

Gordon took a step back, "Hold on there, Batman. We can't just go around taking people and expecting them to give us answers that they may not even have."

"Yet, Joker continues to kill innocent people as we sit by hoping that we can get a break or a clue." Batman shot back.

"Look, I'm just as stressed as you are about this whole Joker nonsense, but we still have to abide by the law! Please, don't let yourself stoop to his level. Once you start bending the rules, you start going down this path that never ceases to tear away your morals."

Batman thought for a moment, "Maybe I could just give him a heads up that his help is needed."

Gordon sighed, "Maybe you can gently push him into coming in to offer up his services, but I mean it, Batman. If I hear about anything you did to endanger his rights, you will have me to deal with."

"Got it."

Batman turned to leave, but stopped when Gordon spoke, "Hey Batman, Joker knows where me and my family lives. I had to put Barbara and James on a bus to Chicago. It was the farthest place away from here that I could send them too that has no connection to us or family. I want Joker taken down, dead or alive."

Batman looked at Gordon, "I will exhaust every resource I have to catch Joker."

"I know you will." Gordon replied.

Batman leapt off and glided through the night air as Gordon turned off the signal.

** XXXXX**

Jonathan Crane stood out on his apartment balcony observing the streets of Gotham. It was always so intriguing to watch people at night. It seemed their true sided would come out because it seemed like nobody was watching them.

"Crane." Batman's voice boomed.

Jonathan Crane jumped around to see Batman standing behind him, "You know, you have got to stop butting in on people."

"I don't have time for your sense of humor, Crane. I need to know where Edward Nigma is."

"Oh so I didn't do something?" Crane replied.

Batman just glared.

"Fine, I know where he is, but I'm not going to tell you."

Batman just expanded his cape and leapt off the balcony. Crane just took a breath and went inside his apartment. He surveyed his home and noticed that one of the drawers in his guest bedroom was slightly open. He ripped it open to see his daily planner was gone.

"Damn it!" Crane seethed.

Batman flipped through Crane's planner and found what he was looking for, Edward's address and his where-abouts for a week. Smiling, Batman made his way to the bar that Edward seemed to be so fond of.

Everyone seemed to choke on their drinks when the dark knight made his way over to a table in the far dark corner. Edward seemed to jump out of his skin when he saw who was making his way over to him.

"Look, I didn't do anything Bats!" Edward practically screamed.

Batman just slammed his fist on the table and it shattered. Edward clawed at the booth as Batman got in his face, "You will go to Gordon now and ask him what services he needs of you. The lives of everyone in this city depend on it!"

Edward just nodded his head frantically, "Y-y-yes sir!"

Batman whipped around and left the bar and everyone's gaze followed him.

**XXXXX**

"How's the room?"

"It's ok, I just want to be with you, honey." Barbara replied.

Gordon smiled, "I promise this will all be over soon. I'm just worried about you and my son's safety."

"I love you."

"I love you too." Gordon replied.

The phone clicked as an officer came into Gordon's office. "Um, commissioner, you need to come out here."

Gordon got up with the feeling that whatever this was, it was not good. He walked into the lobby to see Edward Nigma standing there, looking like the wrath of God was just poured on him.

"Commissioner Gordon?" Edward's shaky voice asked.

"Yes."

"What services do you need from me?" Edward asked.

Gordon smiled as a faint glimmer of hope flickered in his mind.


	11. Anarchy

**Author's Notes: I'm hoping to be able to wrap up this story before summer time. I think I'm going to take a break from writing a batman story for a while after this one. I've appreciated all the input and hits on these stories. I love writing in my spare time and thank you for everyone who has taken time out of their schedule to read these. I have plans for a very long story I'm going to be writing soon. Again, I want to thank everyone and especially my fans for their time. **

Anarchy

Selina Kyle enjoyed the training sessions that she had with Bruce, but now it was time to take them to the streets. She tired of waiting around, hoping the cops would finally catch Joker. Even when they did catch him, they couldn't keep him contained. The only way that man would finally go away was if he died. Selina knew Gordon and Batman would not kill him for the sake of the law and morals, but she could. Selina sat down on the couch contemplating about this. She would have to do it. Ultimately, it would end up being her that would do the job. Even if she was put back in prison or even Arkham, as long as Joker was not going to be able to wreak havoc again, Selina was happy with whatever the consequences were.

"Alfred, I'm going out." Selina chimed as she got up.

Before Alfred could say anything, Selina ran up the stairs to get her cat attire in the duffel bag and headed out the front door. She knew Bruce would be pissed and that ultimately he would find out that she was out and about as Cat Woman, but she was willing to risk it for the sake of her sanity and for the sake of Gotham.

**XXXXX**

Edward Nigma drank another cup of coffee as he tried to piece the envelopes together, "It's obvious there is some sort of pattern on these envelopes. So, these victims had to have been killed within a day of each other. He just prolonged sending the envelopes to you to make you feel like he was just killing at random under your watch."

Gordon watched intently as Edwards steady hands would put a few envelopes together, take them apart and re-put them back together. Every now and then Edward would smile.

"Why the hell are you smiling?" Gordon finally asked.

"Because this guy is good…"

Gordon just drank his coffee to keep a few words from slipping through his lips. It seemed like the whole Police Department was watching as Edward kept plugging away and finally, he stopped.

"Got it."

Gordon quickly walked up to the table and looked at the picture that was drawn from blood. It had the image of a clock in the background with a noosed around the neck of a man in the foreground. The clock had two thirty as the time on it and Gordon just stared at it bewildered.

"Well, what does it mean?" Gordon asked.

Edward rubbed his hair and stared at the picture, "Well, I think he is telling us what time the next killing will take place, but the question is when and where? What is so important about two thirty?"

Gordon thought as different officers popped off answers.

"A lot of people are at work during that time."

"Well, kids are still in school."

"Banks are usually going through inventory."

Edward felt like he was having a migraine from all the chatter, "Do you really think you have the resources to cover all of that? No, I don't think so! I think he has something bigger planned. Do any of you recognize this dead man in the foreground? Joker is obviously targeting a specific person, not a whole body of people."

Gordon felt like a light bulb went off in his head, "This Thursday at two thirty, the mayor is having his re-election speech in the city square."

Edward smiled, "Well there are still some brains left in that stressed head of yours, Commissioner."

Gordon just ignored his comment, "Thank you for your services, Edward."

"Oh, you better be thanking me and don't think for one second I will drop everything to help you do your job again."

As Edward left, a cop muttered, "Asshole."

Gordon left to his office to call the mayor…

**XXXXX**

Mario Falcone leaned back in his chair and was about to close his eyes when he felt a vice like grip around his neck.

"Croak and I'll slit your throat." Cat Woman hissed.

Mario swallowed as she came around from behind the chair, "Where is the Joker?"

Mario snickered, "You think I know where that freak is?! Geez, I thought he was crazy."

Cat Woman ran her finger over the scar on Mario's cheek, "Looks like Joker's mark to me."

Mario was about to say something when Cat Woman punched him in the gut. She pulled him out of the chair and cracked her whip across his back, "I will not tolerate games from the Falcone's! Where is Joker?"

"I swear, I don't know!" Mario begged.

Cat Woman wrapped her whip around Mario's neck and dragged him to his balcony. She leaned Mario over the railing and kept the whip around his neck. Mario started screaming for his life. Cat Woman smiled and gave her whip some more slack in order to let Mario lean over more.

"Oh please! I'll tell you what I know! Just don't kill me, please, dear God!"

Cat Woman kept him there, "Where is Joker?"

"Let me up first!" Mario screech.

Cat Woman added more slack and that added on to Mario's screaming, "I will not ask you again."

"Ok! We tracked him to an abandoned house way out in the country. The roof is badly tattered on it and the white paint is practically falling off the house. You cannot miss it! It's towards the west."

Cat Woman pulled Mario up and grabbed his throat, "Tell me something, who is the real leader of the mob now? It sure as hell is not you."

Mario just spit in her face. Cat Woman growled and knocked Mario out cold.

**XXXXX**

Bruce sat at the dinner table eating alone. He took a deep breath contemplating the fact that Selina may be out and about without him. He looked at the time again and it was near eleven pm. "Alfred, how long ago did Selina go out?"

Alfred checked the clock, "almost three hours ago, sir."

Bruce slammed his fork down, "I'm going to go find her."

"Sir, do you think..."

"Yes, Alfred. She's out prowling tonight!" Bruce replied going to the bat cave.

**XXXXX**

"I understand sir, but you don't realize how much danger you are in." Gordon responded.

Gordon waited as the Mayor replied back and sighed, "I know this is re-election. However, the citizens are not going to support you with this lunatic running around. I'm sure…. But… Yes sir."

Gordon hung up the phone and put his head in his hands. Another deep breath and Gordon got up to give some orders out to his men. He was going to protect the Mayor, whether he wanted the protection or not.

"Lance, Jennifer, and Thomas, come in here."

The three officers went into Gordon's office. Gordon closed the door behind them and sat down at his desk.

"Ok, so we know who the Joker is going after and when. It will be during his re-election speech this Thursday. I'm going to put you three on patrol to watch the Mayor's home and his office. I need you to periodically check up on him and make sure everything is normal, got it?"

"yes sir."

"It starts tonight, so get on it." Gordon stated.

The three officers left and Lance took a detour from the other two officers. He pulled out his phone, "Sofia, this is Lance. If you are going to get the Joker to come to you, you need the Mayor."

"Why is that?"

"They figured the clues that Joker kept leaving Gordon. He is going after the Mayor during his re-election speech." Lance replied.

Sofia paused for a moment, "Then we take him before he ever reaches the podium on Thursday."

Lance heard the other phone click and then got into his squad car.

**XXXXX**

Batman perched stood on the roof top as Gordon came up from the stairs, on his way to turn on the bat signal. Gordon's heart leapt through his chest to see Batman was already there.

"I was waiting for you."

"Obviously." Gordon replied. "We figured out the pattern on the envelopes. Edward was very good doing that."

Batman nodded, "So what is Joker up too."

"He's going to kill the Mayor during his speech this Thursday at two thirty."

"We can't let him do that or it destroys everything we have worked hard on to try to keep these people safe." Batman replied.

Gordon sighed, "I know. I've got three officers patrolling his house and his office. If anything goes amiss, we will know."

"Let's hope so."

Gordon watched Batman walk off…

**XXXXX**

Cat Woman perched on the edge of a rooftop, surveying the alley below. Before she knew it, a gloved hand grabbed her from behind and slammed her up against a brick wall. She was face to face with those eyes that she fell in love with.

"Hello…"

Batman leaned to her ear, "What the hell do you think you are doing?"

"I'm investigating."

"Without me?" Batman seethed.

"Well, we will cover more ground this way."

"What if you had got hurt or even died?!" Batman punched the brick wall out of frustration.

Cat Woman just embraced him, "I'm sorry, I knew I should have ran this by you first, but I did find out where Joker is located at."

Batman thought for a moment, "You were going to go after him without me were you?"

Cat Woman just stayed silent and Batman shoved her off of him, "Do you not remember how you almost died? I will never forget the look you gave me that night! It was if you accepted death."

"I did accept death because it meant I would be saving you and Gotham. When you are going around at night, have you not accepted death yourself? You never know when you are going to get killed doing what you're doing. Yet, you point the finger at me without a second thought as to how devastating it would be to me to have to bury you!"

Batman's cape gently flowed around his figure in the breeze, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get angry with you. Just please let me know what you are up to next time."

Cat Woman nodded, "I love you."

Batman walked up to Cat Woman and they shared a heated kiss of passion under the moonlight.

**XXXXX**

Alfred was cleaning up different rooms when he walked in on Selina and Bruce. "Master Wayne!"

Bruce stopped and Selina instantly covered herself with a blanket, "Alfred, what are you doing at this hour?"

"Well, sir, I'm just cleaning up the place and I usually make sure the guest bedrooms are in order. However, you are not in your own room."

"Alfred, who the hell cleans house at three in the morning?!" Bruce snapped back.

Alfred thought for a moment, "Good night, Master Wayne. I'll have breakfast ready for you in the morning."

Alfred closed the door and Bruce laid down on the bed next to a giggling Selina. "What's so funny? The mood is totally ruined."

Selina just burst out laughing, "What are the odds that out of the entire house, this would be one of the bedrooms Alfred stops by so early in the morning?"

Bruce cracked a smile, "I think we gave the poor old man a heart attack."

"He's not old!" Selina said, slapping Bruce on the chest.

Bruce just grabbed Selina in a bear like grasp and breathed in the smell of her hair, "Goodnight, Selina."

Selina practically purred as they drifted off to sleep.


	12. On the Edge of Disaster pt 1

**Author's Notes: Wow it has been a while! I messaged most of you to let you know that this update was coming. I am excited to finally be finishing this story. As I have stated on the previous chapter that this will be my last batman story for a while. Thanks again and I hope you enjoy!**

On the Edge of Disaster pt. 1

_Thursday 2pm_

The Mayor was straightening his tie when he heard a knock on his door. Officer Lance peeked in from the door.

"Sir, we need to get you some added protection before you go out in the public."

The Mayor continued to mess with his tie, "I'll be out in a minute."

Officer Lance nodded and then closed the door. The Mayor sighed and looked back out of his window to the bleak looking skyscrapers across from him. It seemed as if the city was just sad. It was a cloudy day and the buildings did not have this grandeur to them. Instead it seemed as if they were all dead and decaying. Gotham City went from being a promising career to a death sentence to all who inhabited it.

_No…. I cannot think that way. This city needs me now more than ever. They need a leader that they know and trust. I doubt any new candidate will even understand the mess he is stepping into if he takes this job. I will not give up on Gordon and I will not give up on Gotham._

The Mayor went back to his desk and picked up his speech. It seemed to be more like a personal plea for help. He did not want the people of Gotham to feel helpless. Crumpling up the pages and then tossing the speech into the waste basket gave the Mayor a feeling of hope. He didn't need a speech typed up by an assistant to win this election. He needed to touch the hearts of the people, just like he did before. He needed to lift up their spirits so that everyone can come together to save this city. Gotham deserved a chance just like any other place.

Opening the door and taking a deep breath, the Mayor headed down the hallway while being followed by police escort. They took the elevator down to the lobby and Officer Lance was waiting by the main desk. He nodded towards the main conference room and the Mayor followed suit. Officer Lance closed the doors and they were the only two people in the room.

"You need to put this on."

The Mayor looked at a bullet proof vest, "I see Gordon is doing everything he can to make sure nothing happens to me."

Officer Lance nodded, "Since the Joker is after you, I would hope that everything was being done to protect you."

After his jacket was off, the Mayor put the vest on and Officer Lance helped him. After the vest was nice and snug, the Mayor turned around to put his jacket back on. In the reflection of the polished conference table, he noticed Officer Lance getting a rag out and putting a liquid on it. The Mayor turned around quickly, "I should have known Joker would have his people infiltrate the police department."

Officer Lance laughed as he put away the bottle of chloroform, "I'm sorry, but I don't work for that nut case. I work for the Falcone family."

"Alberto and Carmine Falcone are dead…"

Lance shrugged, "Apparently he has other kids that left Gotham or that he kept hidden."

The Mayor thought about this, "He has another son right? Mario?"

"Yep and he is picking up where Carmine left off at."

The Mayor chuckled, "He has no idea what he is getting into. From what I understand, Mario has been pampered since he was a kid. He has never seen the ugly side of running the organization that his father did."

Officer Lance smiled, "Well, he will soon enough."

"Let's put down the chloroform, shall we? You just gave me a bullet proof vest, so it's obvious that they don't want me dead. Why are you taking me?"

Lance folded up the rag, "The Joker is after you and we are after the Joker. If we can take down the Joker, then we have the entire mob under our rule again. Which means, we can cut a deal with you."

The Mayor thought for a moment and understood where this was going, "I'm listening…"

"Well, think about it. The Joker is coming after you, right? What better way to get him out in the open than by pissing him off? I mean, we want this lunatic dead. You want him off your hands and once that happens, this city goes back to its normal self. Well what if I could promise you that the city will be in better shape once all of this is said and done? The Falcone family will make sure that crime rate is at an all time low for good. They will personally deal with anyone who steps out of line in order to make sure that another person like Joker never steps foot in this city again."

"How can they promise something like that?" The Mayor asked.

Lance crossed his arms, "Because it's bad business for them to have a maniac running the streets."

"So this is just a business proposition? The people of Gotham do not matter in this?"

Lance chuckled, "Don't you see it? If the mob is happy, this city is happy and prosperous!"

The Mayor started to pace. This was wrong; to go into a deal with a mob so blindly and without guarantees. Plus, if this ever got into the open, the media would destroy his reputation and the public would crucify him. However, if he could control crime, then the people of Gotham would be safe. He was desperate to get rid of this Joker problem once and for all. He knew that he wouldn't be kept in the loop of what was going on behind Falcone's doors no matter what the circumstances were.

"Sir, we have to get going soon. It's almost two thirty."

The Mayor stopped pacing, "So what is included in this deal?"

Officer Lance pulled out his phone, "I'll let Mario tell you himself."

The phone rang and Mario answered, "Yes?"

"The Mayor is here to discuss the proposition you laid out for him."

"Ah," Mario chimed, "so you are interested?"

The Mayor leaned on the table, "I want to know what is attached to this deal if I go through with it."

Mario cleared his throat, "If you come with us and miss your re-election speech, we will do everything in our power to take down Joker and give you the glory. Hell, you can even say the Gotham PD did all the work. Once Joker is down, we have the power over the mob. This will only work if you let us basically kidnap you and use you as bait to draw out Joker. We get what we want and we give you what you want; a safe and peaceful city."

"That sounds more like a fairy tale than a logical outcome. I still want to know what strings are attached to this."

There was a long pause before Mario finally answered, "I want to be in the loop of the justice system. I want files on every major crime family in this city, as well as their financial status, bank accounts, whereabouts, and anything else that makes sure we are always one step ahead of them. I also want inventory check's waved on our own private dock and planes. In return, we will let you know whatever we are planning to do that may be of an… illegal matter so that you can protect us from prosecution from the courts."

The Mayor sighed, "So, you want me to trade one type of corruption for another form of it?"

"Just think of it as business." Mario replied.

The Mayor stood up and straightened his jacket. He took in a deep breath and thought for a second on what he was about to do. _I hope I can forgive myself for this…_ "I'll do it, but only because I want this city to finally get the peace they deserve."

**XXXXX**

Gordon was looking around at all the strategically place officers. He looked at his watch and saw the time said 2:29pm. He walked up to one of his officers, "Where is Officer Lance?"

"I don't know, Commissioner. He was supposed to be here five minutes ago with the Mayor."

His watch beeped and the time was 2:30. Gordon could tell the people were getting restless. A scream made Gordon jump as he pulled his gun out. He saw the little girl that was pointing up and as he looked up, a body was falling from the edge of the rooftop with rope following it. After a couple more seconds, the rope went stiff and the body swung back and forth in the air. Parents were covering their children's eyes as screams erupted into the air. Gordon and some others ran to survey the body as it dangled inches from the podium. To their surprise, it was just a dummy that was painted and dressed to look like… the Joker.

"What the hell?" Gordon murmured.

There was a sign hung around its neck reading: THE FALCONE'S JILTED THE JOKER. WHO IS LAUGHING NOW?

Gordon was slightly amused at this until reality slapped him in the face. The Falcone's have the Mayor now. Looking out towards the crowd, Gordon noticed some people looking uneasy and starting to walk away in the same direction.

Gordon motioned at the officers that joined him at the podium, "You see those people? I want them all arrested."

Police officers jumped off the podium area and chased the suspects in the crowd. This caused everyone else to panic and start running in different directions. Gordon didn't know how to calm these people down, but it was too late. Panic had already taken its effect and there was no stopping it. He just hoped at least a couple of those suspicious people were apprehended so he could find out where the Mayor was. He just wanted to know if the Mayor was even alive to begin with.

**XXXXX**

Batman drove the tumbler as Catwoman enjoyed looking at all the gadgets and buttons on the inside.

"You know where Falcone's place is, right?"

"Of course I do. You are not the only one who has been able to find them. That's their game; they like to be out in the open and it frightens people because they don't understand that." Batman replied.

"That makes sense." Catwoman purred while adjusting her knives.

Batman looked at her and sighed, "Just don't kill anyone."

Catwoman smiled to herself.

**XXXXX**

The Mayor stepped out of the limousine he arrived in. He was greeted by Mario Falcone.

"I'm glad to get to know you in person for the first time!" he exclaimed as he shook the Mayor's hand.

The Mayor just nodded curtly, "So this is where I'm going to be staying for a while."

"As long as everything goes smoothly." Mario chuckled.

Before he even got through the front door, the Mayor had a black cloth hood placed over his face and then something smothering his mouth and nose. _CHLOROFORM! _The Mayor tried not to breath but it was too late. He blacked out and then was carried in through the front doors. Mario handed an envelope with money into it to Officer Lance.

"You did good."

Lance leafed through the cash, "You know I can't go back to my job now and I have to leave this city."

Mario nodded, "I understand. We can still use someone like you if you still want the job. However, if not, I will have a new home and identity for you."

Lance thought for a minute, "I'm a dirty cop now. I can't face my friends knowing I'm going to have that kind of reputation. I have to bow out."

"Get your things packed and come back here. I'll have a briefcase with everything you need in it." Mario replied.

They shook hands and Mario went inside. The place was colder than it was earlier. "Someone get the place warmed up a bit. It feels too much like the arctic!" Mario took the elevator to the flat on the top floor and walked in to see Sofia looking out the window.

"I see he took the deal…"

Mario smiled, "It's the best move we have been able to accomplish since taking over the business."

Sofia turned around, "Where is he now?"

"They took him to the safe room where no one can get to him."

Sofia thought for a moment, "That is the best place. I'm sure he wouldn't think to look here."

Mario sat down, "How can you be sure about Joker's motives?"

"How can we be sure about anybody's motives? How can we be sure that the sun will rise tomorrow? This is the best plan we've got. We did injure Gotham this way, but how much more chaotic will it become if the Mayor was killed by the Joker?" Sofia lit a cigarette and after take a puff she continued, "Whose idea was it to make the dummy?"

Mario chuckled, "That would be mine and Lance's. You remember the party that I was at when I got this cut? I remember Joker saying it's not about the money, it's about the message. I wanted to send a clear message that we are out for him. I felt this would for sure bring him out to us. Also, Lance saw the message Joker sent Gordon with the blood on the envelopes. So it would only be fitting to mimic what could have happened today with the Mayor."

Sofia smiled, "Well played, brother." After taking another long drag, "Did Lance decide to sign on with us?"

Mario shook his head. Sofia was not surprised by that and went to go look out the window again, "You know, this city does not look any different from when I left it…"

Before Mario could reply the window shattered and he was on his back dazed and confused. Sitting up and rubbing his head, Mario could see a woman crouched over Sofia and Batman standing right beside her. It took him a minute to realize it was the same woman who threatened him the other night.

"You…"

Catwoman purred as she walked over to Mario, "Who is that woman over there?"

Mario shook his head, "She's no one…"

Mario was slapped hard and Catwoman dragged him up on his feet, "I'll ask again… who is she?"

Mario looked back at Sofia's unconscious form, "She's a… hooker. She is specially hired by me to… you know, please the men here."

Catwoman gave him a look of disgust before dropping him to the floor. Batman walked across the broken glass to Mario, "where's the Mayor?"

Mario picked himself up, but his head was still throbbing, "Good luck finding him. We did the same thing to him that you did to Carmine. We hid him amongst cargo on the docks."

"I don't believe you." Batman replied. "You wouldn't go through all this trouble to put him out from under your thumb. You want Joker. So you are willing to have him come to you and you are using the Mayor as bait. So where is he?"

Mario reached for his gun and Catwoman cracked her whip on his hand, "I don't think so, Falcone."

"Who is this woman?"

Batman kept from smirking, "She's with me. Now answer my question."

Mario shook his head, "You are wasting your time."

At this point, the door was kicked open as heavily armed men came into the room. Batman saw this and quickly jumped out the window. Catwoman followed suit as the bullets came flying past her. She used her whip to catch her as she swung to the ground to safety. Batman was perched on the awning and jumped down to the ground.

"Let's be traditional and actually use the front door." Catwoman chimed. "Think about it, they are all upstairs protection Mario and that… whoever she is."

Batman nodded, "Do you think she is a hooker?"

"No… Mario is protecting her identity from us, which worries me."

Batman kicked open the front door to see an empty lobby and the echoes of guards were bouncing everywhere. "They are coming back down."

Catwoman nodded as she quickly ran to different rooms to check them. Batman went to a computer in the main area and ripped the entire hard drive onto his portable one. Once that was done, he signaled to Catwoman to get out of there. She frowned and started to climb the walls to go out one of the windows. Batman shot a cable line above him and was pulled to the floor above them to head out the balcony as the guards started to swarm the lobby area.

**XXXXX**

A man walked into the living room where Joker sat petting a black cat. The odd scene took the man by surprise but he shrugged it off to be one of Joker's odd quirks. Joker gave him a death glare and the man decided to speak up.

"We… didn't get the Mayor. He never showed up to do his speech. I think someone working for the Falcone's was working for the Gotham Police Department."

Joker licked his lips and ran his gloved hand through his hair, "Well that's a big fat duh, now isn't it?"

"Sir…"

"Please, shut up. What, you didn't think to plant one of us in the police department?"

The man just looked dumbfounded, "We tried, but…"

"But what? It was hard? Oh you poor thing!" Joker replied mockingly. "I'll tell you what, we will just pretend this didn't happen and start all over. How does that make you feel?"

The man couldn't reply and the Joker just started laughing. His laughter made the man shiver with fear and then he nearly jumped out of his skin when the Joker took the cat, while he was laughing, and broke its neck. He carelessly tossed the cat on the floor.

"Now! Obviously the Falcone's are calling me out. It's time to answer their call." Joker walked up to the man and the man started backing up frantically.

Joker stopped for a minute, "Why so serious?"

A dark puddle started to form at the man's feet. Joker looked down and clicked his tongue, "You know that damages the carpet right? The smell just… stays there. With blood, it just takes a little hydrogen peroxide and the stuff is out of clothes, carpet, you name it! However, urine is a pain."

Joker pulled out his gun and shot the man right between the eyes. He looked at the other people in the room, "Clean this up. I have work to do."


	13. On the Edge of Disaster pt 2

On the Edge of Disaster pt. 2

Selina Kyle was eating a sandwich as Bruce was going over the contents of the Falcone hard drive. Most of it was finances and contracts made with different people.

"They really make sure no one double crosses them, don't they Bruce?" Selina remarked.

"You shouldn't talk with your mouth full." Bruce replied.

Selina just stuck out her tongue with a pile of food on it. Bruce continued until he finally found what he was looking for.

"Here they are; blue prints."

Selina leaned up on the desk, "Do you think they have a special room that they would keep the Mayor in?"

Bruce's eyes darted back and forth looking, "They have to have a safe room they would keep him in."

"Well if it's a safe room," Selina stood up, "Why would they even have it labeled in the blue prints? I thought the whole point of a safe room is so that no one can find it."

"That is true, but because they don't label it, this means we can still find it. You see this random void of blue here?"

Bruce pointed to a square outline with no writing or labeling on it. Selina nodded, "Yes, but is it underground?"

Bruce got up from his chair, "This makes sense why they are so comfortable about being in the open. They have a network through their safe room. They can practically move underground without anybody knowing."

"So how are we going to get into this safe room?"

Bruce thought for a moment, "We go undercover."

Selina smiled, "How are we going to do that?"

"When I first came back to Gotham, I pretended to be a homeless man. That's how I got around everywhere to see how different the city was and to spy on people working for my company."

Selina took another bite of her sandwich, "Well, let's dirty up some clothes then."

**XXXXX**

Gordon paced his office and periodically looked out into the debriefing room where the other officers were conversing and going over files. Some of the men they captured were going through questioning and some of them were released because their answers were useless. This was the first time that he felt completely alone in his fight to bring down the criminals of Gotham. There were some very prestigious officers in this department, but one of his best ones turned out to be working for the Falcone's today. Gordon sat down and placed his gun on the top of his desk. A scary thought erupted in Gordon's mind; how many of Joker's people were right under his nose?

A picture on the wall caught Gordon's attention. It was the picture of him and Harvey Dent shaking hands. Tears tried to escape him as he felt like everything he believed in and worked for was falling apart. Some of his closest friends were either dead or had left Gotham behind and now his family was in hiding. He even had to, at one point, turn on a close companion; Batman. Gordon looked outside of his window and realized that Batman is the only person he could trust now to help him or could Batman be corrupted as well…

"Commissioner, sir?"

Gordon was snapped out of his thoughts, "Who is it?"

"Lieutenant Ramsy, sir. I needed to talk to you."

Gordon looked at the Lieutenant and motioned for him to sit down, "What can I do for you?"

Ramsy was taken aback by the statement, "You have done enough for me: for all of us. I just need to come clean with you."

Gordon looked back down at his gun wondering where this conversation was about to head. Ramsy swallowed slowly.

"Sir, I was the one who stole Joker's items from the evidence room. Thomas wouldn't rat on me because we are really close friends. The reason why I did it was because Joker was waiting for me out in the parking garage. He threatened to kill me and I didn't want my family without someone to defend them, especially with him running around like a mad dog!"

Gordon nodded slowly, "Why are you telling me this now?"

Ramsy sighed, "Because we just got blindsided by the Falcone's today and I didn't want to be another disappointment to you, sir. Plus the guilt has been eating away at me like crazy."

"So your report, that your squad car was stolen, was falsified?" Gordon replied.

Ramsy nodded, "Yes, Joker took that as well."

Gordon pulled out a pen and a notepad, "What was the serial numbers on it again?"

Ramsy stayed silent for a second, "I'm not in trouble?"

"Lieutenant, the fact that you came to me and was honest, knowing full well I could have had you turn in your badge and gun, lets me know I can actually trust you. I hope you know how much that means to me right now. I'm going to be counting on you to be doing, off the record, side jobs with me for a while."

Ramsy nodded his head, "I'm… honored, sir. I'm guessing I can't talk to anyone about what we do."

Gordon was silent for a moment, "Exactly. I mean no one. Not even Thomas and not even your wife."

**XXXXX**

Bruce and Selina were standing around with a group of homeless people by the mouth of an alleyway, next to the Falcone apartment complex. The place was huge, but only members could take up residency there. Most of the rooms were just storage for money, ammunition and weapons, holding rooms, etc. Selina kept a look out as Bruce started to survey the back area in the alley. He was looking for an extra door that maybe came from the ground or the wall. He was surprised when a metal slab opened up from the ground and a couple of men came out. They looked at him and Bruce just held out one of his hands.

"Money please, sirs? I haven't eaten in a week."

One of them laughed and threw a quarter at him, "Get lost! And don't let me see you around here again."

Bruce crouched to the ground to pick up the quarter as the men walked off. Selina looked at Bruce and he signaled her over. "You see this metal sheet here? It's an actual door. It can't be opened from the outside, but someone has to be able to get out this way. We will wait here until someone comes out."

Selina nodded and they crouched up against the wall and waited till the door opened again. It was about another thirty minutes when the door did open. After the man walked out, Bruce grabbed him as Selina kept the door open. Once the man was unconscious, Bruce put him in a dumpster before making his way down into the tunnel. Selina followed suit, making sure no one was watching them. They climbed down the ladder and then came to an open tunnel that was lit up. To their right, the tunnel kept going into another series of tunnels. To their left, there was an actual door.

Bruce put on his ski mask and so did Selina. Selina touched her sides to make sure her knives were still there. She had no idea if Bruce even brought anything. They got to the door and Bruce pushed on the handle to see if it would open. He pulled on it and nothing. Selina shrugged her shoulders and Bruce decided to knock on the door. Bruce and Selina leaned against both sides as a panel opened up and a man looked through it.

"Who the hell is there? Markus that better not be you playing games again!"

The door opened and man met a big fist to the face that knocked him out cold. Selina kept him from hitting the ground and she dragged him out into the tunnel. Bruce waited for Selina to walk in before closing the door. There was a desk, a couple of clipboards with sheets on them, and another door that had no handle on it. There was a small square window on it and Bruce looked in to see the Mayor just casually sitting in a chair talking to Mario. Selina came over and looked as well.

"What is going on? It's like he isn't a prisoner." Selina whispered.

"I don't like this…" Bruce replied.

Mario and the Mayor were suddenly interrupted by someone. Another armed man came in and was speaking rather low. Mario left with a couple of the men and the Mayor sat in the room with one armed guard. Bruce took a breath, "This is it."

Selina took off her mangled coat and was in just black attire along with her black ski mask. Bruce took off his homeless look and Selina saw he carried a tazer gun. Bruce gave Selina a nod and she kicked open the door. Bruce tazed the guard and Selina surveyed the room to make sure no one else was in there.

"Who the hell are you?" The Mayor yelled, standing up.

Bruce checked the guards' pulse, "We are here to rescue you."

"I don't need rescuing, thank you very much."

Selina kept watch through the door, "I don't think you understand. We are taking you out of here whether you like it or not."

The Mayor pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head, "You have no idea what you two are doing. This is the only way I can save Gotham."

"Please, indulge us." Bruce replied sarcastically.

"I made a deal with the Falcone's."

"You did what?" Selina shouted.

The Mayor sat back down, "I knew you wouldn't understand."

Bruce walked over to him, "What deal?"

"I agreed to let the Falcone's use me as bait to bring out Joker and in return, they would control the Mob and I wouldn't have to worry about another Joker to terrorize this city ever again."

Selina shook her head in disgust and slammed her fist on the wall, "You don't compromise with criminals. They will not hold up their end of the bargain, ever!"

The Mayor put his head in his hands, "You don't know how desperate I am. The police department is pretty much in shambles. Hell, even Batman isn't doing a good job either. Look who has come to rescue me: two vigilantes, probably cops, acting on their own orders. You two better get out soon though. The man that ran in here to talk to Mario informed him that the Joker was here."

Selina felt a cold shiver run down her back, "We are not leaving you here for him. What makes you think the Falcone's are going to be able to take him down here?"

The Mayor stood up, "I made a deal and I'm sticking behind it. If I die… so be it."

Before Selina could make a retort, Bruce grabbed the Mayor from behind. The Mayor started to struggle, "Get your hands off of me!"

Bruce got close to the Mayor's right ear, "By the way, we are not vigilante cops… I am Batman."

The Mayor's eyes widened before he lost consciousness. Bruce picked up the Mayor, "Let's go!"

Selina just stood there and took out a knife. Bruce stopped and put the Mayor down on the floor. Selina ran her hand over the metal before looking back up at Bruce, "I have to stop him and what better place than here? He won't even see me coming."

"I am not going to let you go by yourself to face that lunatic. Come with me, Selina."

Selina looked back out the door, "No."

She walked out of the safe room and Bruce cursed at himself before picking up the Mayor and walking back out the tunnel. He carried the Mayor back up the ladder and opened the metal door. He tossed the Mayor onto the gravel road alley and propped the door to stay open. He scooped the Mayor back up and walked to the other end of the alley where Alfred was waiting.

"Alfred, I need you to take him back to his home."

Alfred was about to protest before Bruce went running back into the alley. "What are you getting yourself into, Master Wayne?"

Selina silently went up the stair way and could see that the safe room was connected to another room through the fake fireplace. "Smart…" she muttered to herself. She walked to the door and opened it enough to peak into the main lobby area. A couple of men with clown masks were walking around and she could see that the Falcone guards were dead. Selina thought for a moment….

"What's taking Joker so long?" one of the guard men remarked.

"Dude I don't know but I'm getting a burger when this is done. I'm starving!"

"Oh boys… could you direct me to the ladies room?" A voice came from behind them.

The clown masked guards turned around to see a woman in black attire and her hair wild and dancing around her face as she made her way over to them.

"I think I died and went to heaven!" one of the men laughed.

"Oh, not yet!" Selina remarked and toss a knife into his throat.

Before the other two could react, Selina had tossed a couple more knives into them and they went out like a light. She pulled her knives back out of them and checked each of their pulses. Wiping the blood off, Selina put her ski mask on and made her way into the elevator. She heard footsteps behind her and she turned to see Bruce panting from running. "You can't stop me." She stated before hitting a button. Bruce ran towards the elevator, but the doors closed before he could get in. Slamming his fists in defeat, Bruce looked up and started to make his way up the stairs.

**XXXXX**

"You have something that I want… I expect to get it now." Joker remarked. "Or do I have to put another scar on you?"

Mario just laughed to himself, "I don't think you understand that we are the only ones who can keep you from getting to the Mayor himself. We made a deal and the Falcone's keep their end of the bargain."

"Oh how sweet." Joker smiled. "I wish everyone I made deals with was as sure of themselves as you are. Life would just be so much… easier."

"I hope you don't think you are getting out of here alive, Joker." Mario replied.

Joker jumped up and down, "Oh, goody! I just love a good threat!"

"It's not a threat, it's a promise." Mario pressed a button, "Send them up."

No one answered back. Mario furrowed his brows, "I said send them up."

Joker started polishing a knife of his, "You see, Mario, that's your name right? I know everything and I do mean… everything-ah. I came prepared and you obviously didn't. How does that saying go again? Oh ya, don't bring a knife to a gun fight-ah!"

Joker laughed his harsh and soul piercing laugh as Mario stood up intended to leave. Joker took a couple of big steps towards Mario and grabbed his jaw. "LOOK AT ME!" Joker demanded.

Mario started to break out in sweat. Joker relished in his fear for a moment, "You wanna know how I got these scars?" Joker tightened his vice like grip, "Wanna know how I got these scars? My father was... a drinker, and a fiend. And one night he goes off crazier than usual. Mommy gets the kitchen knife to defend herself. He doesn't like that. Not… one… bit. So, me watching, he takes the knife to her, laughing while he does it! Turns to me, and he says, "why so serious, son?" Comes at me with the knife... "Why so serious?" He sticks the blade in my mouth..." Joker slides his blade into Mario's mouth, ""Let's put a smile on that face!" And..."

The ding of the elevator made Joker look up and motion at his men who were in the room. The door opened and they unloaded gun fire into the elevator. They stopped when they realized no one was in there. Suddenly, two knives flew out and connected to the men's faces. They made gurgling noises before slowly slipping into the afterlife. Joker watched a pair of feet appear from the ceiling and then a black clad woman, with a ski mask, hop down. "Put him down, Joker!"

Joker smiled, he recognized that voice anywhere, "Look who has joined the party!"

Joker pulled his knife out of Mario's mouth and tossed him to the side. Mario rubbed his jaw as he watched this mysterious woman approach Joker. "The Mayor isn't here anymore. I made sure of that."

Joker's smile diminished a little, "I doubt you were by yourself. Where's Batman?"

"You think a woman can't handle herself? What a shame…" Selina teased.

"Well why don't you come over here and show me how much you can handle yourself. I'm sure you can surprise me in more ways than one-ah." Joke replied with a click of his tongue.

Selina scoffed, "You disgust me in more ways than one."

Joker cackled before throwing his knife at her. Selina bent over backwards to miss it. "Oh darn! I can never do that as well as you!"

Selina popped back up and tossed one of her own. Joker dashed sideways before pulling out his gun and taking a couple of shots at Selina. "You always liked to play dirty, Joker." Selina remarked after somersaulting over the couch.

The doors, from the stairs opened, and Selina looked horrified as Joker aimed his gun towards the doors. "No!" she screamed before leaping at Joker. Joker tried to swing around towards Selina but she had already pounced on him. She yelled as she started scratching Joker all over. Joker pulled at her ski mask, but Selina bit his hand. Joker went from giggling to side splitting laughter as he tried to get her off. His gun had been kicked away and he grabbed another one of his knives. Before he could do anything, Mario tossed Selina off and pointed Joker's gun at Joker. He fired a shot, but another hand had pulled his arm up towards the ceiling. Selina watched in horror as Bruce kept Joker from being shot.

Joker stayed on the floor still giggling to himself, "I knew you wouldn't let him kill me. You are so predictable."

The distant sound of sirens made Selina look out the still broken window, "We have to get out of here."

Mario went to point the gun again at Joker and Bruce pushed him away again, "No, let the police have him."

"So that he can get out again? I'm going to finish this murderous lunatic." Mario retorted.

Bruce didn't back down, "You are only stooping to his level. He wants you to do this. Most of all he is testing me."

Mario shook his head, "Who are you?"

"That's not important right now." Bruce grabbed the gun and grabbed Joker. "You do anything and I will put a bullet in your head."

Joker just laughed to himself as Bruce pinned one of his arms behind him and took him into the elevator. Selina grabbed her knives and stopped by Mario, "I'm sorry." She headed into the elevator and held a knife to Joker's throat before the doors closed.

"Oh look here, the roles have reversed themselves." Joker cooed before grabbing Selina's arm and pressing her blade harder against his neck. "Do it!" He bellowed.

Selina looked at him with disgust, "If that's what you want…"

"Don't!"Bruce shouted. It shook Selina out of her trance. "Please… don't."

Selina felt her emotions fighting with one another and the elevator door opened again. The lobby was covered in cops. Bruce kicked Joker out of the elevator and hit the 2nd floor button. "Stop! Police!" But it was already too late as the elevator closed. They arrived at the 2nd floor and made their way out of a window and down the emergency staircase back into the alleyway.

**XXXXX**

Gordon stopped as he was told "we got Joker". He ran to the detention area and saw with his own eyes the monster that was terrorizing Gotham. "I want officers watching him 24/7! No one takes a break! He doesn't get out!"

Gordon ran back into his office and called his wife. "Hello, Barbara? Baby, we got him! Yes, I know, it's wonderful. I'll get back to you in a day or two. Tell James, daddy loves him!"

Gordon hung up the phone and silently started shaking his hands in joy. Today became a good day for him; for Gotham. A knock on his door made Gordon calm down and straighten his mangled hair. He realized he hadn't slept for days. "Come in." He turned to see the Mayor walk into his office. "How did you get out?"

"Batman actually, but he wasn't in his usual attire. He was in a ski mask and black attire. There was a woman helping him too. She was dressed the same."

Gordon offered the Mayor a seat, "That's unusual that he has help other than me. However, I don't always understand his tactics."

The Mayor nodded, "There is something you should know since Batman knows. I made a deal with the Falcone's that I plan on sticking too."

Gordon felt like a brick went right through his skull, "You did what?"

"I made a deal to act as bait to draw out Joker and it clearly worked. You have him in custody now. I'm letting them have access to all the criminal records so that they can keep in control of the mob for us. They want peace in Gotham just as much as I do."

"So this means that I can just do my job anymore." Gordon retorted.

"No, I still need you to keep the Falcone's in check." The Mayor replied.

Gordon scoffed, "So you are honoring a deal with the biggest crime family, which you obviously still don't trust, and you think I can just look the other way? No, I'll take down the corrupt higher power in this city before I just bow down to this."

The Mayor stood up, "Are you threatening to expose me?"

Gordon leaned on his desk, "No, it's a promise. You need to reverse this now before it gets real ugly."

"I could have your job for this."

"And this city will have one less corrupted Mayor. I already have my department infiltrated with Falcone's people! They don't need you to get their hands on background information of other crime families. They just needed to get beyond the red tape and that is you! Now they can literally do it in the open without worrying about prosecution! What's going to happen when you are not Mayor anymore? It's going to get out into the open one way or another."

The Mayor nodded and went to the door, "Take care of this Joker problem and then I'll resign peacefully. I'm sorry for the mess I've made."

The Mayor walked out and his eyes met those cold dark eyes of evil from behind bars. Joker just looked at him with such… satisfaction. The Mayor walked over to him and put his hand up when a policeman went to intercept him. He walked all the way up the bars and whispered, "If the justice system doesn't get you, I will. I promise." The Mayor walked away to the sound of Joker's mocking cackle echoing throughout the room.


End file.
